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Werebbubb
}} 'Werebbubbs'The most prevalent English translation of Polish bobołak is "werebbubb", introduced in The World of the Witcher by CD Projekt to replace "bobolak", used in , inside CDPR media. Danusia Stok's "bogeymen" is etymologically close but she didn't stick to it and also had "weretots" in . Other erroneous interpretations are "werecats" and "werelynxes". are an old race of short, nimble nonhumans resembling beavers. Despite the name, werebbubbs are not shapeshifters. Once spread across the highlands between the rivers Sylte and Tango, werebbubbs were almost wiped out. Only a few managed to assimilate and by the 1250s, many retreated to Mahakam or more remote hills and ravines. Characteristics Physical description Slightly taller than a dwarf, werebbubbs are of a tiny figure. Their bodies are covered in thick fur, brown or black, gradually turning white or ashen with advanced age. Concealed in the furry face are pointed teeth and two small, glittering eyes. Less efficient sight is compensated by perfect hearing. Sharp claws on werebbubb hands can serve as weapons. Physically stronger than humans, werebbubbs have metabolism abiding by utterly unique rules. It allows them to endure even the gravest wounds by monstrosities like koshchey, although finding a medic outside their own can prove difficult. Moving with the agility of an ape werebbubbs make excellent trackers and hunters. Mental traits Courage is a common characteristic of werebbubbs. They are proud of being different from humans and fond of rocky massifs. They are kindred of dwarves and gnomes in this regard, though unlike the two races they do not extract the earth's riches. Their attempt to stop humans from doing so within werebbubbs' mountain homes was what sparked the conflict that nearly got them exterminated. Overall, werebbubbs are a calm and industrious folk, living off of what nature gives them and repaying her as much as they can. Culture Society Suited to life at high altitude, werebbubbs build mountain cities. On the other hand, they lack defensive fortresses of the dwarven or gnomish level, which makes them vulnerable. Elders are traditional leaders. They serve in place of priests too, conducting rites. Aside from claws, werebbubbs fight with standard arms including axes, swords, and spears. Religion Werebbubb faith is based on traditions and legends. Albeit much heritage was irretrievably lost, scholars and mages still draw from the rest. Werebbubbs don't worship gods, deifying a plethora of ancestral heroes instead. They believe the great heroes became spirits of the land after death and continue to guide their descendants. Each hero has an annual holiday during which celebrants gather at stone altars to offer sacrifices of items rare in slopes such as grain, fruit, and vegetables. The opponent of great heroes, the source of all evil, is Lilit. Said perception is thought by scholars and mages to be an echo of past wars between werebbubbs and Wozgors, later amplified by Ithlinne's Prophecy. Werebbubbs initially believed the apocalypse shall happen on her return, heralded by the Black Sun. They dreaded lengthy eclipses in the past and tried to chase them away with loud music, weapon sounds, and belligerent cries. Zeli, a werebbubb heroine seen as patroness of harvest and fertility honored on Lammas, is considered one of the precursors to Melitele. History Beginnings Just as the circumstantial evidence suggests, werebbubbs are one of the ancient dwellers of the Continent, their first appearance dating somewhere after the arrival of gnomes to at least 1st millenium BR.In , Aen Seidhe are said to have sailed into the Northern Realms "thousand years before" humans, whose own landing occurred "five hundred years ago" in when the book is set. Expansion for talks of werebbubbs as already present by the time of elven disembarking. The myths say herbalist Zeli discovered agriculture and innovative ways to use plants for healing purposes at the dawn of time. She directed fellow werebbubbs and became revered as a great hero. In those days, werebbubbs lived mainly south of the Amell mountains where now lies Nazair, Metinna, and Mag Turga. Relations with dryads weren't amicable, forasmuch werebbubbs treat wood as simple material. Following the landfall of elves from their white ships, werebbubbs got ruthlessly pushed out of their fatherland. They moved north, principally to Amell and southern Mahakam. Striving for harmonious coexistence with local dwarves and gnomes, werebbubbs helped them repel the Aen Seidhe. This interracial feuds, however, never spiraled into a total war or attempts to eradicate. Moreover, battles between werebbubbs and elves were far from vicious. War of survival Until the First Landing, werebbubbs had peace. This event brought humans who deemed werebbubb's hairy look bestial. When they halted the construction of mines and shafts, humans launched mass slaughters against the werebbubbs. The majority exterminated, humans closed captives in reservations with vrans. Only a few hundred werebbubbs survived. Losing a number of uplands to Nordlings, more surviving werebbubbs retreated to Amell, Mahakam and Kestrel Mountains. In the Kestrels they set up cities and rebuilt what was lost. Alas, humans soon reached out with the demand for permission to mine. Thjjn who led the werebbubbs refused and a long battle ensued. He and his people fought bravely but outnumbered and without fortifications, defeat was inevitable. Populating a mountainous area rich in metal deposits, early Kovirians came into conflict with werebbbubbs. The grandfather of Julian for instance, who by the age of 47 had a collection of werebbubb scalps above his mantle went on to found a prospering diamond business despite having problems to find anything at the start. Elusive remnants Nine months before Geralt of Rivia was born, at least 9 werebbubbs were part of Koshchey's Men who terrorized the Klamat Pass area at orders of rogue druid Fregenal. After Fregenal grew overambitious, werebbubb Kehl toppled him. He negotiated with riled peasants of Klucz, Kaczan, and Porog and led his men out for good. A while later, Kehl returned to aid Korin and Visenna against koshchey and died from injuries. In the 1210s, a werebbubb gang attacked the prince of Caingorn who would have died if not for witcher Eskel. The prince spattered in werebbubb blood offered anything in return. Eskel invoked the Law of Surprise. Unbeknownst to the prince, his daughter, Princess Deidre Ademeyn, had just been born. By the 13th century, the werebbubbs could seldom be seen outside Mahakam. Yet, after all the bloodshed, a handful integrated into human societies, enjoying town life in Blaviken for example. The Mahakam werebbubbs prospered in enough for Velerad, castellan of Vizima, to say the place teemed with them. In March , near the end of the Second Northern War, Meve had been approaching Aldersberg to join allies when Scoia'tael shot her scout, Corporal Larkin. The elf tried to talk around it saying it was an accident. Meve, furious, sardonically asked if she should blame werebbubbs then. In a similar quip, Geralt affirmed he was hired to deal with werebbubbs when questioned about an audience with Emperor Emhyr var Emreis in . Notable werebbubbs *Dezeh *Kehl *Thjjn *Zameth *Zeli Notes *''Were-'' part stands for were, an archaic term for male human. In Polish they're bobołaki, and again the ''-łak'' has the elder meaning, coming from the Proto-Slavic lakъ, "skin". Bobołak is just one of numerous variants of similarly called folklore creatures, e.g. Slovak bubulak, Polish bobok, bebok, babok and babuk, Greek baboulas, Mediterranean babau, English bogeyman or bugbear, German Butzemann, Egyptian al-Bu'bu and so forth. Therefore bobołaki can mean bogeyskinned or bogeymen. * The race was to be prominent in Andrzej Sapkowski's novel that eventually evolved into Droga, z której się nie wraca short story. Later however, when he focused on developing the world of The Witcher, he decided to abandon further development of vrans and werebbubbs because he wanted it to be inhabited mainly by more classic fantasy races like elves and hobbits. Apart from the short story, werebbubbs are only mentioned in passing, with intention that the species is nearly extinct. * Now established as beaver-like in licensed sources, earlier there was a minor inconsistency. Maybe mistaking bobcat (Polish: Ryś rudy, "Red lynx") for a root word, Czech illustrator Jana Komárková has drawn one with a felid look. English translators Michael Kandel and David French rendered bobołak as "werecat" and "werelynx" respectively, which is a separate creature. Footnotes References de:Bobolaks it:Bobolak pl:Bobołak pt-br:Bobolacos ru:Боболаки cs:Bobolaci Category:Werebbubbs Category:Races Category:Wiedźmin: Gra Wyobraźni bestiary